The third season of Hart of Dixie has been bumpy and messy and sometimes downright boring, but after a brief stumble last week, the show has found its groove lately and when it works, it works. “Together Again” definitely worked.

It was the kind of episode that reminded me why I love this show so much and why I was willing to weather the early part of the season and still hold onto the hope that things would get better. It’s been a rough journey, but now it finally feels like things are on the right track as we head into the final episodes of the season. There were a lot of different stories happening last night so let’s talk about them.

Brick and Tom Team Up to Help Wanda

One of the major strengths of this show has always been the kooky townspeople and their ridiculous problems or talent shows or fire drills or whatever crazy town business that’s happening in Bluebell at any given moment. Tom and Wanda, the cutest of cute couples, have been trying to have a baby with Dr. Breeland’s help. The hormone treatments made Wanda a little crazy so when the first attempt failed, she was ready to give up and decided her goat would be their baby.

Tom asked Brick for help and luckily Shelby blew into town at just the right time. Brick suggested Tom and Wanda babysit while he took Shelby to dinner. But she forgot to mention that her daughter was a bit of a terror. Wanda was more determined than ever to keep the baby goat, but then Tom started singing to the baby and she loved it. Wanda joined in and they had a breakthrough. She attempted to keep Shelby’s baby, but then agreed that maybe she was willing to try again for their own. It was a super cute moment for them and I don’t know about anyone else, but I think pregnant Wanda will make a great side story for season four (we need season four, CW!).

Patrick Wymore/The CW

As for Brick and Shelby, she admitted that she was happy with her life in Mobile, but not completely because she still wanted Brick back. He wasn’t ready to go down that path again, but it was a sweet moment for them. Sometimes I want them to end up together and sometimes I want Brick to find someone more down to earth to spend his life with, but honestly, I think I’ll be good either way. I just want a happy ending for Brick. He deserves one.

Lavon Accidentally Sabotages AnnaBeth’s New Boyfriend

After deciding that they needed to be friendlier for the town, Lavon and AnnaBeth attempted to put that into action when they had an awkward run in on the sidewalk. AnnaBeth told Lavon that her parents were coming for a visit and then she introduced him to her new boyfriend. They all handled it well, but then Lavon ran into AnnaBeth’s parents. At first, they weren’t happy to see him, which made sense, but as soon as they saw that his feelings were hurt, they changed their tune and told him that they’d missed him. It was a cute bonding moment and even though I have been hard on Lavon this season, I was really happy that he got to win one.

Danny Feld/The CW

Unfortunately, AB’s parents wanting to spend time with Lavon led to them standing up AB and Davis. It wasn’t Lavon’s fault, but AnnaBeth was not amused when she realized her parents were hanging out with him. She pointed out how hard it was for any man to be the boyfriend after Lavon Hayes and he took her words to heart. He sat down with her parents and more or less broke up with them. It might sound silly, but it was a great moment because Lavon was putting AB’s happiness first and that’s important. I love when characters show growth and this just reaffirmed my decision to want Lavon and AB to work out after all.

In the Name of Love and Friendship

The episode began with Zoe and Wade (finally!) as Zoe tried to convince Wade that she was sorry for what happened with Vivian. He wasn’t really in the mood for her apologies and he was also tired of falling in a hole that Joel had dug on the property. He basically told Zoe that he was sorry he’d ever met anyone in her family, including her (ouch!). Meanwhile, Lemon was furious with George because Fancy’s was losing business after the health inspection went to hell thanks to his kitchen escapades. Lemon had a plan to fix things by getting a critic to review Fancy’s, but it was impossible to find out where he would be next.

So Lemon decided to spend the day cheering up Wade and after turning down his suggestion to go to a strip club, they ended up at a taxidermy shop/restaurant (it’s both hilarious and way too gross to think about). As they bonded over their mutual annoyance, Zoe and George decided that they were not just going to sit back and let their exes be angry with them. George had figured out a way to chart the critic’s system and Zoe decided to hijack his plan and get the critic to review the Rammer Jammer as a way to make it up to Wade. But the critic is famous for only reviewing one restaurant per town so it became a race between George and Zoe to see who could charm him and save the day for his or her ex.

But when do Zoe’s plans ever go right? The man they thought was the critic turned out to be a criminal and he ended up stealing George’s truck, leaving George and Zoe stranded on the side of the road without any way to call for help. Neither was happy with the other and as they began their trudge back to Bluebell, eventually another truck stopped for them – one driven by one of the Truitt brothers (yes!). He offered them a ride, but they probably would have been better off walking since this turned out to be another Truitt brother kidnapping. They were mad at George for hurting Tansy (um, she left him, guys!) and at Zoe for driving Joe-el away (again, he left her…).

Patrick Wymore/The CW

George and Zoe convinced them to allow them time to plead their case and they made the same points that I just did – they were the ones left behind, the ones victimized by love with only broken hearts to show for it. That made the brothers sad and they wanted to keep them there so they’d be safe and comforted (ha!), but Zoe said it was all good because they’d healed and fell in love with each other. She kissed George and then the two ran away. Now at this point, this could have gone very badly. In the past, the show has had a bad habit of falling back on George and Zoe’s alleged love at the strangest and most inopportune times, but that’s not what happened here.

When they reached Bluebell, they talked about the kiss and how it would be so easy to finally have a relationship. It had been a good kiss and they were both single at the same time for the first time since they’d met. But they both knew that it wasn’t what they wanted. It would be too easy for them to be together and neither of them liked the easy route. Then they agreed that George picking her up on the side of the road would always be a good thing because it led to them each finding a great friend. I was practically jumping on my couch at this point because this scene was so perfect. For me (and I know not everyone agrees), George and Zoe have always worked better as friends because they’re too alike and they need a love interest who is different from them and will bring out sides of themselves that they didn’t know they had. So this scene was exactly what I’ve wanted for three seasons (thank you, Show).

As for Wade and Lemon, they met the real critic in the taxidermy shop. They also took a much different approach from George and Zoey – they worked together, talked each other up, supported each other and then they both won because once they were back in Bluebell, the critic loved both of their establishments and decided to break his rule and review both. I really liked this parallel because Wade and Lemon have been on the friendship track for two seasons now and this showed how much they’ve both benefitted and grown from having this friendship in their lives. Once upon a time, Wade and Lemon would have been scheming against each other too and they both would have lost. Instead, they came out victorious and their friendship and adoration for each other remains one of the greatest things about this show.

It also led to a major moment of truth when Lemon pointed out that Wade can’t blame himself for Vivian leaving, but he can’t blame Zoe either. As only a true friend can, Lemon told Wade that the real reason he was upset was because of the hold Zoe still has over him and his heart (cue me jumping on the couch again). Wade took her words to heart and the next time he saw Zoe, he wasn’t combative with her, but they were back to their old banter. Zoe wasn’t in the mood and Wade kept falling in the hole again, but this was one of their classic, spark-filled fights and I think it hints at the good stuff to come over the next two episodes.

I absolutely loved this episode and I hope the next two are just as good. It makes me happy that we’ve seen so much character development and it’s wonderful to watch friends having each other’s backs and also telling the truth when they need to, even if it’s not what the person wants to hear. The show continues to do a great job bringing in the townspeople for small arcs without anyone overstaying his or her welcome or overshadowing the main characters. Again, when this show works, it works.

Next week, Zoe somehow decides that she’s the right person to be giving love advice and makes it her mission to help Crazy Earl find a girlfriend. I think it’s safe to say Wade is going to have some issues with that. Check out the preview below and then hit the comments and share your thoughts with us. Did you enjoy this episode? How would you like to see the final episodes play out?

About the author

Mandy Treccia

Mandy Treccia has served as TVSource Magazine’s Executive Editor since 2016, formerly as Editorial Director from 2012-2016. She is an avid TV watcher and card carrying fan girl prone to sudden bursts of emotion, ranging from extreme excitement to blind rage during her favorite shows and has on more than once occasion considered having a paper bag on hand to get her through some tough TV moments. Her taste in TV tends to rival that of a thirteen-year-old girl, but she’s okay with that. Follow her on Twitter at @SourceMandy.